Top shareholders in Marmite maker Unilever have hinted that they may object to a possible relocation of the company’s headquarters from London.

Directors of the Anglo-Dutch group are expected to vote in the coming weeks on where Unilever should maintain its base, after the company promised last year to simplify its corporate structure in the wake of Kraft Heinz’s failed £115bn hostile bid.

But key investors have said that ditching Unilever’s joint London head office for Rotterdam could be part of an underhand plan to make the company less attractive to foreign buyers, the Sunday Times first reported today.

The company did promise last year to main a stock market listing in London as well as Amsterdam, after shareholders threatened a revolt otherwise, but delayed making a decision on the location of the headquarters due to “political turbulence”.

Currently, Unilever operates under a dual-headed legal structure, with incorporated firms in both the UK and Holland which must each be treated as separate companies with separate annual general meetings.